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Dark Carnival
by null Ray Bradbury'Let us now praise Ray Bradbury' THE TIMES Bradbury's first story collection is a must-read for any fan of the genre, spinning stardust and cobwebs in its wondrous wake. It contains twenty-seven stories, from science fiction’s master storyteller.
Edison's Conquest of Mars: Large Print
by Garrett P. ServissWritten as a sequel to Fighters from Mars, an unauthorized and heavily altered version of H. G. Wells's The War of the World, this novel weaves a distinct and astonishing story of humans invading Mars, marking the invention of the space techno-thriller. Presenting a cornucopia of technical ingenuity, Edison's Conquest of Mars marks a variety of firsts in the genre: the first space battle ever to appear in print, the original fictional example of alien abduction, the introduction of the theory that the pyramids were constructed by extraterrestrials, and the first truly functional spacesuits.
The Flames: Large Print
by Olaf StapledonAn introductory note seems called for to explain to the reader the origin of the following strange document, which I have received from a friend with a view to publication. The author has given it the form of a letter to myself, and he signs himself with his nickname, "Cass," which is an abbreviation of Cassandra. I have seldom met Cass since we were undergraduates together at Oxford before the war of 1914. Even in those days he was addicted to lurid forebodings, hence his nickname.My last meeting with him was in one of the great London blitzes of 1941, when he reminded me that he had long ago prophesied the end of civilization in world-wide fire. The Battle of London, he affirmed, was the beginning of the long-drawn-out disaster.Cass will not, I am sure, mind my saying that he always seemed to us a bit crazy: but he certainly had a queer knack of prophesy, and though we thought him sometimes curiously unable to understand the springs of his own behaviour, he had a remarkable gift of insight into the minds of others. This enabled him to help some of us to straighten out our tangles, and I for one owe him a debt of deep gratitude. He saw me heading for a most disastrous love affair, and by magic (no other word seems adequate) he opened my eyes to the folly of it. It is for this reason that I feel bound to carry out his request to publish the following statement. I cannot myself vouch for its truth. Cass knows very well that I am an inveterate sceptic about all his fantastic ideas. It was on this account that he invented my nickname. "Thos," which most of my Oxford friends adopted. "Thos," of course, is an abbreviation for Thomas, and refers to the "doubting Thomas" of the New Testament.Cass, I feel confident, is sufficiently detached and sane to realize that what is veridical for him may be sheer extravagance for others, who have no direct experience by which to judge his claims. But if I refrain from believing, I also refrain from disbelieving. Too often in the past I have known his wild prophesies come true.The head of the following bulky letter bears the address of a well-known mental home."THOS."
The Fourth Book of Jorkens (Jorkens)
by Lord DunsanyThe Fourth Book of Jorkens, the fourth collection of Dunsany's Jorkens tales to be published, is a collection of fantasy short stories, narrated by Mr. Joseph Jorkens. It collects 33 short pieces by Lord Dunsany.The Jorkens stories are set in the London gentleman's or adventurer's club of which the title character is a member. They usually open with another member mentioning an interesting experience he has had; this rouses Jorkens, who in return for a whisky-and-soda (merely to "moisten his throat," you understand!) goes the other member one better with an extraordinary tall tale, supposedly from his own past. His stories often tip well over the boundaries of the plausible, into the realms of fantasy, horror, or even science fiction, and his auditors can never be quite sure what proportion of what he relates was truly experienced and to what degree he might have embellished.
The Mightiest Machine: Aarn Munro Book 1 (Gateway Essentials)
by John W. CampbellA million light-years from Earth, one solitary spaceship floats through a vast swarm of enemies. The ship was an experimental vessel from Earth that utilised a revolutionary new concept in space mechanics, developed by the near-superman Aarn Munro. The enemy vessels were wholly unknown to Mankind, for the new drive had taken the Terran vessel into an unmapped void, where not even the telescopes of Earth had ever penetrated before...
Spacehounds of IPC
by E.E. 'Doc' SmithWhen the Inter-Planetary Corporation's crack spaceliner Arturus took off on a routine flight to Mars, it turned out to be the beginning of a most unexpected trip to the unexplored moons of distant Jupiter. For once wreaked on Ganymede, the survivors had first to master that world's primeval terrors, then reconstruct a new spacecraft, and finally find a way out of the problems presented by the warring intelligence of the Jovian system. SPACEHOUNDS OF ICP is justly considered to be on of Edward E. Smith's finest novels - a standalone classic of exciting space adventure.
The Carnelian Cube
by Fletcher Pratt L. Sprague deCampArthur Cleveland Finch was an eminently practical man. Naturally he didn't believe that the carnelian cube was a "dream-stone" with supernatural powers. But, of course, if he were going to wish himself into another world, he would choose one where everything was perfectly rational.Finch got his wish - with a bang! And he soon discovered that one man's rationality can easily be another man's nightmare. He awoke a poet in a strange place where status meant everything and a man could be tried for umpteen kinds of crimes for reciting a poem in public.So, being optimistic as well as practical, Finch tried again - and again. And the worlds kept getting wilder, more improbable, and funnier - but more dangerous, too. The question was, could Finch find Utopia¿ before losing his skin?
Divide and Rule
by L. Sprague deCampOn a future Earth, where invading aliens have forced humanity to revert to a feudal society and conducting scientific research is punishable by death, it's good to be the heir to a duchy. Unless your brother has been burnt as punishment for heresy. And unless you intended to do something about it . . .
The Mask of Circe
by Henry KuttnerJay Seward remembered a former life in a land of magic, gods, and goddesses...a time when he was Jason of Iolcus, sailing in the enchanted ship Argo to steal the Golden Fleece from the serpent-temples of Apollo. But one night the memories became startlingly real, as the Argo itself sailed out of the spectral mists and a hauntingly beautiful voice called: "Jason...come to me!" And suddenly he was on the deck of the Argo, sailing into danger and magic...
Skylark Three: Skylark Book 2 (Gateway Essentials)
by E.E. 'Doc' SmithIn this exhilarating sequel to The Skylark of Space, momentous danger again stalks genius inventor and interplanetary adventurer Dr. Richard Seaton. Seaton's allies on the planet Kondal are suffering devastating attacks by the forces of the Third Planet. Even worse, the menacing and contemptuous Fenachrones are threatening to conquer the galaxy and wipe out all who oppose them. And don't forget the dastardly machinations of Seaton's arch-nemesis, DuQuesne, who embarks on a nefarious mission of his own. Against such vile foes and impossible odds, how is victory possible?
Triplanetary (The\lensman Ser.)
by E.E. 'Doc' SmithThe Arisians, benevolent humanoids who have declared themselves Guardians of Civilization, war with the Eddoreans, shapeless, malevolent beings, hungry for power at any price. They fight on both physical and mental levels, wielding weaponry of inconceivable destructiveness.And their battleground is a tiny planet in a remote galaxy: Earth. The swamping of Atlantis, the fall of Rome, the wars that wrack the world and blaze through space - all may seem historical accidents to the men involved, but each in reality is a move in a save universe-wide power struggle . . .
Beyond Earth's Gates
by C.L. MooreUnder Eddie Burton's management the ambitious starlet Lorna Maxwell seemed headed for the top of Broadway's glamorous world of make-believe. And then she vanished - through a wall where there was no door. Eddie found himself plunging after her into a city beyond reality. In that weird twin city to New York, Eddie became a hunted fugitive while his girl friend turned up as an ever-present face and all-pervading voice that awed and mystified the inhabitants. And Eddie learned that between him and return to his natural home stood her new manager, a mysterious figure who ruled by a tyrannical combination of super-scientific miracle and brute force.
The Incredible Planet: Aarn Munro Book 2 (AARN MUNRO)
by John W. CampbellThe Incredible Planet is John W. Campbell's sequel to The Mightiest Machine and contains the following:"The Incredible Planet""The Interstellar Search""The Infinite Atom"
The Last Space Ship
by Murray LeinsterPut yourself in the place of Kim Rendall, a handsome, idealistic young man living on a distant planet ruled by a super-efficient government. Here is industrialization carried to its illogical conclusion. Kim Rendall lives in the shadow of mechanized terror, for machines have taken over, and the disciplinary circuit keeps the inhabitants in check . . .
The Queen of Zamba
by L. Sprague deCampMeet Victor Hasselborg, easily the most miserable Private Investigator in the entire galaxy. More comfortable with the dull routine of investigating insurance frauds than interstellar adventure, Hasselborg is bound by duty to chase a runaway heiress across known space to the primitive world called Krishna. Clad in kilt and sword, his hair dyed green, riding a buggy driven by a six legged monster of a beast, Hasselborg's quest takes him through the volatile world of feudal Krishna politics and into the presence of . . . the Queen of Zamba. The Queen of Zamba is the first of L. Sprague de Camp's Krishna book - interplanetary romance in the tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs' Martian Tales.
Seetee Shock (Seetee #1)
by Jack WilliamsonNick Jenkins works with a group of engineers on asteroid Freedonia, attempting to build the first CT reactor. A contraterrene matter (CT, or antimatter) reactor will provide enough power for the entire solar system, freeing people from the tyranny of limited fission power monopoly controlled by the Interplanet corporation. A surprise attack on Freedonia by unknown attackers results disables the entire staff save for Nick Jenkins. The entire staff, including Jenkins, is exposed to a lethal dose of radiation. They will all die within two weeks.Now it up to Nick Jenkins to track down the attackers, prevent the outbreak of a CT war, and finish the CT reactor in order to provide free power to the solar system. And he must do so before he dies of radiation sickness.
Skylark of Valeron: Skylark Book 3 (Gateway Essentials #3)
by E.E. 'Doc' SmithAs the mighty spaceship Skylark roamed the intergalactic spaceways, scientist Richard Seaton and his companions found a world of disembodied intelligences. A world of four dimensions where time was insanely distorted and matter obeyed no terrestrial laws - where three-dimensional human intellects had to fight hard to thwart malevolent invisible mentalities...
What Mad Universe (Gateway Essentials)
by Fredric BrownBUG-EYED MONSTERS ON BROADWAYPulp SF magazine editor Keith Winton was answering a letter from a teenage fan when the first moon rocket fell back to Earth and blew him away.But where to? Greenville, New York, looked the same, but Bems (Bug-Eyed Monsters) just like the ones on the cover of Startling Stories walked the streets without attracting undue comment.And when he brought out a half-dollar coin in a drugstore, the cops wanted to shoot him on sight as an Arcturian spy.Wait a minute. Seven-foot purple moon-monsters? Earth at war with Arcturus? General Dwight D. Eisenhower in command of Venus Sector?What mad universe was this?One thing was for sure: Keith Winton had to find out fast - or he'd be good and dead, in this universe or any other.
2000 Years On
by John Russell Fearn Vargo StattenJeremy Clyde is a young scientist who discovers that Time is a circle, and that deep within the human brain is a memory 'hangover' of future and past events. He carries out an experiment on himself and succeeds in mentally projecting his body 2,000 years into the future. Here he learns that his arrival in 3950 has been anticipated, and incredibly, he is appointed as the nominal ruler of the four inhabited inner planets, Mercury, Venus, Earth and Mars. But he discovers he is only a puppet for a ruthless governing system being secretly maintained by malign Jovians. Clyde joins forces with his counterparts on the three other planets and battles to throw off the alien yoke...
The Avenging Martian
by John Russell Fearn Vargo StattenA cosmic atrocity of the ancient past-the murder of the planet Mars by Venusian super-scientists who strip the planet of its air and water, leaving only a handful of survivors on a dying world! Martian scientist Jad Inicus embarks on am amazing scheme of revenge-by sending two young Martians, male and female, to a prehistoric earth. His cry for revenge reverberated down the corridors of centuries, and when it throbbed to awaking in Arnath Layton, his remote ancestor on Earth, the descendants of the malign Venusians were truly doomed! Another cosmic saga of this prolific author, novelized from the pages of Astounding Stories.
Cataclysm
by John Russell Fearn Vargo StattenTroubled Martin Clegg has always suffered from dreams which seem intensely real. In them, bizarrely, he's another person not of this Earth! He's finally forced to confide in his fiancée, Elsie Barlow, and they consult Martin's scientifically inclined friend Tom Cavendish. He reveals, astonishingly, that Martin has a cosmic twin on a planet of Betelgeuse to whom he's mentally linked. Unsuspecting, they are both about to become caught up in the strands of an incredible cosmic mystery in which, to save the universe from destruction, Martin must die--twice!
Cosmic Engineers
by Clifford D. Simak"Upon you and you alone must rest the fate of the universe. You are the only ones to save it." Thus spoke the mysterious Cosmic Engineers to a small group of human beings on the rim of the solar system. Somewhere out there in the vastness of the galaxies lurked the greatest challenge they would ever face - the catastrophic fury of the Hellhounds of Space. Promptly, courageously the earthlings boarded their galactic spaceships and journeyed out far beyond uncharted stars, plunging into dangers too awful even to contemplate.
The Cosmic Flame
by John Russell Fearn Vargo StattenAnother classic tale from British SF pulp author John Russel Fearn, here writing as Vargo Statten. Originally published in 1950.
The Death of Metal
by Donald SuddabyThe Death of Metal is a disaster tale in which metal suddenly becomes soft.
Emperor of Mars: Clayton Drew Book 1 (The Clayton Drew Series)
by John Russell FearnSnatched to Mars, captive of a flying saucer, Clayton Drew smashes his way through the forces of evil! In the grand tradition of Edgar Rice Burroughs, Emperor of Mars is the first volume of the Clayton Drew Quartet.